Infiltrating Hogsmeade Village

Halloween was on a Tuesday.

So, on the Saturday night three days prior.

In the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor of the Main Castle.

Two people were busy at work here.

The two were none other than Cypher and Luna.

A week ago, Iris had told them that her strange illness was about to flare up again and she needed to return to her family to recuperate.

Cypher had asked Iris about it, but she had only shaken her head silently in response.

For this reason, Cypher had even gone out of his way to ask Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore said he knew about it and had even participated in the treatment plan. At that point, Cypher stopped overthinking it—with Dumbledore around, why should he worry?

When the time was right, Iris would naturally tell him herself.

"Ice Blade Barrage."

This was Cypher practicing a new spell.

A basin-sized ice ball coalesced in the center of Cypher's outstretched hands.

Then the ice ball exploded, turning into a shower of ice blades that flew toward a target not far away.

The destructive power was considerable—the sharpness of the ice blades combined with the kinetic energy of their high-speed movement.

The thick target was worn down and nearly shattered.

Cypher was very satisfied; he now had a large-scale lethal magic under his belt.

He had named his other single-target spell Little Ice Hammer. Luna said it sounded bad and suggested changing it to Icy Soul Hammer.

This... had to be a coincidence. After hearing the name, Cypher consoled himself with that thought.

Unfortunately, Icy Soul Hammer was a spell he had only recently invented and mastered, and it still required a long charging time to cast.

Compared to Wind Magic and Fire Magic, Ice Magic had a physical form, making it easier to cast with less effort.

Moreover, Cypher had discovered that his sensitivity to Ice Magic power far exceeded that of other elements.

Just as Cypher was about to add ice blades to his feet and practice gliding on an icy surface.

Luna suddenly looked up and called out to stop him.

It turned out that there was a Herb Auction in Hogsmeade village tomorrow.

Since she also needed to take the Awakening Draught, the Dragon Blood Herb Luna had on hand wasn't enough.

Since it was for her sake, what harm was there in sneaking off to Hogsmeade with Luna?

Cypher was helpless. If Luna had mentioned this earlier, he could have said a word to Professor Dumbledore and gotten a special permission slip.

Now, Professor Dumbledore was away on business again. How was he supposed to leave the castle with Luna?

"But how are we going to get there?" Cypher said, lowering his head in thought. "You know, with the current tense situation and the professors not being in the castle, lower-year students are strictly forbidden from sneaking in and out of the Hogwarts city walls. Even if we use the Disillusionment Charm to blend into the crowd and slip out, there's no way we can bypass the entry screening magic."

Although Hogwarts had not shown any intention of participating in the Wizarding War, quite a few outsiders had already tried to infiltrate the school, attempting to persuade or force it to join the impending great wizard war.

Hogwarts had no choice but to activate the ancient Contract Magic.

Only Hogwarts faculty members and Young Wizards marked with the student crest could enter through the main school gate.

"Helena told me about a secret passage in and out of the castle. We can use that to leave."

Luna twisted her fingers together and spoke softly. Helena had said not to tell anyone else about this secret passage, but Cypher wasn't an outsider—that was what she thought to herself.

"Helena? Oh, her..."

Since she was the guardian ghost of Ravenclaw, this secret passage was naturally safe. It was probably an escape route set up back in the day to prevent Hogwarts from being besieged.

Cypher could see Luna's hesitation. Helena probably didn't want anyone to know about the passage. Considering her past experiences, maybe she had specifically told Luna not to tell boys? Cypher couldn't help but speculate maliciously, and he even let out a laugh.

Now, Cypher felt he had a certain degree of self-protection ability.

The Patronus Charm could emit a wisp of silvery-white thread. Although it wasn't a corporeal Patronus, he had at least gotten started.

As for Occlumency, Cypher gritted his teeth and trusted that the two girls wouldn't harm him.

Even though they did like to tease him.

Several times, when he came to his senses, the two girls were either blushing furiously or laughing at him.

However, the two girls refused to let Cypher ask what they had questioned him about; they didn't want him to know what they had asked.

Fortunately, the two of them helped each other, and all three had barely managed to get started on Occlumency.

Against ordinary confusion spells, maintaining a clear mind was still doable.

As for other spells, Cypher had learned quite a few.

It could be said that even a graduated cannon-fodder Young Wizard couldn't keep up with him.

Besides, Hogsmeade was still an affiliated village of Hogwarts, much like the university towns set up next to universities in his past life.

No one would go so far as to kill a Young Wizard there, right?

The next day, Sunday afternoon.

In the Ravenclaw common room, Luna tugged at Cypher.

Cypher, who was reading Transfiguration literature, looked up blankly.

Luna signaled that it was time for them to set off.

Cypher quickly stood up, rubbed his face to snap back to focus, and returned the book to the shelves of the Ravenclaw Library.

The two walked out of the common room side by side.

Unfortunately, the fourth-floor staircase corridor of the main castle was undergoing adjustments.

When they reached the fourth floor, the staircase corridor before them was shifting in a dizzying array of transformations.

Seeing this, Luna patted her forehead.

"Just in time for the staircase self-inspection. It'll take a while to finish. But no worries—getting past the stairs under inspection was one of my and Iris's favorite games when we were kids."

With that, Luna seized the right moment, grabbed Cypher's hand, and dashed forward.

The two leaped from one staircase to another that had shifted out of sync, then climbed from that staircase onto a rotating, tumbling corridor.

Though this was Cypher's first time passing through a corridor under inspection, he and Luna moved in surprising harmony. A slight squeeze from Luna's hand, and he knew exactly where to jump next—no words needed.

Finally, they arrived before a hunchbacked witch statue.

"Helena was all tsundere back then, saying she wouldn't tell me the password here was 'Left and Right Separate'!"

"Left and Right Separate!"

Luna drew her wand, tapped the statue lightly, and whispered. The statue swiftly opened a passage before them.

"Alright, in..." Before Luna could finish, Cypher grabbed her and quickly slipped into the passage.

Outside, a teary-eyed Gryffindor first-year who had gotten lost rubbed his eyes—had something just vanished?

At that thought, he grew even more frightened...

After entering the passage, it was flat at first.

The walls closed back up, and the ground turned into a steep slide.

Cypher instinctively pulled Luna behind him and held her tightly in his arms, adding a spherical Shield Charm in front of them.

But the slide downward grew faster and faster.

Cypher felt the Shield Charm couldn't hold out, so he quickly used Mage Hand to slow their descent to a safer speed.

The deep tunnel stretched on for who knows how long. After a while, in the faint glow of the Shield Charm, Cypher finally saw the end.

It was still a slide, but at the end, a curved corner turned the diagonal descent into a horizontal path.

Rounding the corner, Cypher realized he had been overthinking.

There was a very weak Shield Charm up ahead, enough to quickly stop their momentum.

"At this speed and time, if there's no spatial folding, we're probably about fifty meters below the castle."

Seeing that everything was quiet with no other movements, Cypher drew his wand and lit a Lumos Charm.

Luna's face was flushed red as she pulled away from Cypher's embrace—she felt a hint of reluctance.

Seeing Cypher scanning around, she patted her cheeks and said softly.

"Just walk straight ahead. Helena and the others check these secret passages every day."

I thought ghosts were just mascots. The moment he said that, Luna shot him a big eye roll.

"Don't let Helena hear that, or you won't last long in Ravenclaw."

"The end of this passage is the cellar of Honeydukes. Let's hurry, while the older young wizards are still in Hogsmeade. It'll be easier to slip out through the shop."

Luna smoothed her scattered blonde hair and spoke softly. Her crisp voice echoed through the empty passage.

"The shopkeeper at Honeydukes doesn't mind young wizards sneaking into the cellar to eat and drink?"

Cypher asked as he walked forward with Luna.

"Of course not. This shop actually belongs to Hogwarts. The secret has been passed down orally from shopkeeper to shopkeeper. Still, if you get caught, it's a big problem—the staff only know you're in the cellar looking like you're trying to steal..."

Then, Luna chattered away, introducing Cypher to the shops in Hogsmeade—like the young wizards' potion ingredients, wizard robes, drink shops, toy shops, and so on.

After walking who knows how far, the two arrived before a trapdoor.

Gently pushing it open, there was no one outside.

Cypher thought for a moment, then took Luna's hand.

He pointed his wand at himself, and his entire figure vanished into thin air.

Luna caught on and quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself.

After all, some senior might recognize her, and stopping them would be a hassle.

Because Cypher couldn't explain why he'd suddenly appeared inside the shop.

To leave Honeydukes, he had to pass the counter and shelves on the first floor.

On Sunday afternoon, plenty of upper-year students were here buying candy.

Slipping out unnoticed was nearly impossible. The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder, and it was all too easy to get jostled.

Suddenly, Cypher's eyes lit up.

He spotted a Slytherin upper-year student leering at a Ravenclaw senior girl.

Guided by instinct, Cypher pulled Luna toward himself and whispered something.

Then Luna tugged Cypher forward until they stood behind the senior.

Luna definitely slapped the senior's backside.

Cypher would swear to it—because a clear ripple ran through the senior's Wizard Robe.

And when the furious senior whirled around, her gaze landed squarely on the lecherous Slytherin upper-year.

The enraged senior immediately started arguing with him on the spot.

Students nearby crowded around to watch the commotion.

Seizing the chance, the two of them canceled the Disillusionment Charm, pushed open the shop door, and slipped out.

Leaving a whole mess behind them.

Even if the senior found out, she wouldn't blame the two of them, right?

Just as he was thinking that, Luna turned back and gave Cypher a meaningful look.

A chill ran down Cypher's spine.

He swore with his eyes that he would take this secret to the grave.